hello! this is just a random little extra - it's from cecily's pov and it's a bit of insight into servants' life and a lot of insight into how dnp are reacting after last chapter. it takes place in between the last chapter and the next, but it's not a mandatory chapter (ie: if this doesn't sound like your cup of tea, you can skip it and you'll still understand the story perfectly fine)(i just thought this would be a bit fun to write)(anyway ENJOY!)
"Yes, Prince Philip sure has been worried about Prince Daniel," Cecily said loudly to Alfonzo, who nodded solemnly.
"Why, of course," he said stiffly, his voice projected louder than usual as well. "I'm sure he is quite upset that his friend has refused to see him—or leave his room—for two days."
The Prince was well-known for eavesdropping, and Cecily could only hope that he was doing so now. The foreign Prince had already approached Cecily on two different occasions and demanded to know what was wrong with Dan.
"He is under the weather," Cecily had lied, instructed to do so from the Prince himself. He'd taken the time give her such commands in between glaring at her and demanding she remove herself from his rooms at the threat of her life. She really did feel guilty for gossiping about him with Charlotte, but she really hadn't thought that he hadn't already realized what his preferences were. She'd thought he was just as aware as she was that he preferred men, and was only going through the steps of courting women in order to do his duties.
Of course, she'd realized how wrong she was once Dan had revealed himself from behind the pillar. He'd looked just as terrified as he had furious, and she'd felt queasy realizing what she'd done to him, what turmoil he was likely going through.
"Then let me see him," Phil had insisted. "I'll bring soup."
"Sorry," Cecily had replied. "No one is to be allowed in."
Now, they waited to see if Dan would burst out of the room and declare that he'd said no such thing about refusing to see Phil and that he would have all their heads for talking about him. Instead, the silence continued. Cecily was starting to wonder if he was even bothering to eavesdrop at all.
It'd been strange after Phil had left all those years ago, watching the Prince's mood shift as he turned sullen and recluse. Especially as she had clear memories of how happy he'd been with Phil. She could still remember the time they'd asked her to play tag with them. Well, Phil had asked, Prince Daniel had stood slightly behind him and stared off to the side as if he didn't care whether she agreed to play with them or not. In the end, she had agreed, and Dan had immediately smirked wickedly, before he'd shoved Phil and yelled, "You're it!"
That day had been filled with the Prince giggling and shrieking as he ran away from his friend and yelling at him whenever it was his turn to give chase. It was a side of Dan that Cecily had seen glimpses of since Phil's return. Now, she feared she might never see it again, and it was all her fault.
"I'm going in," she announced, and Bentley gave her a sad look.
"But I like you alive," he said.
"The Prince won't kill me," she said confidently, although she wasn't entirely sure.
"Perhaps we should just leave him alone," Alfonzo said sadly, and Cecily huffed. They didn't know why the Prince was upset, and they especially didn't know that it was because of her. She had to do something to fix it.
"If I'm not back in ten minutes..."
"Send for your body?"
"Yes."
With that, Cecily slipped into the room, glancing around quickly and confirming, sadly, that the Prince hadn't been eavesdropping. She tip-toed through the rooms, entirely expecting to find the Prince laying in a ball on his bed again. She was wrong. She paused in the doorway, staring at him with wide eyes as he wrote furiously, several pages of similarly abused papers by his side.
As she watched, he reached the end of one paper, slid it to the side, and grabbed another. She realized with a shock that there were tears trailing down his cheeks, and he suddenly let out a sob before wiping his arm roughly across his face. He sniffed loudly, none of these proceedings doing anything to disrupt his rapid writing pace.
It was painfully obvious that this wasn't something Cecily was supposed to be seeing. It was a private moment and she was an intruder, but more than anything it made her realize that the Prince needed his friend. She could understand why that might not work out though, seeing as the reason Dan was even in this state was because he'd realized he was in love with him. Despite Phil being probably the only person that Dan could truly depend on, that he could trust, he would only cause more pain right now.
"Prince Daniel," Cecily said quietly. The prince froze, his entire body ceasing movement, his hand stopping mid sentence.
"Get out," he said, his voice scarily soft.
"I'm sorry," Cecily said quickly. "Me and Charlotte—we had no business saying those things about you. But that doesn't mean it's not okay to be—"
"Get out," he hissed, finally turning to look at her. His eyes were red-rimmed and purple underneath. If Cecily had to guess she'd say that he'd been writing all night long.
"Prince–"
"Cecily," he interrupted, standing slowly from his chair and turning to face her. Even in his destroyed, distraught looking state, he radiated power and dignity. He looked like he could destroy her with the blink of an eye, if he so desired. "I will have you sliced into a thousand tiny little pieces if you don't get out of my sight immediately."
"It's not healthy, Your Highness," Cecily said quickly, already backing towards the door. "At least eat something!"
With a roar, the Prince bounded towards her, hands outstretched, and Cecily darted out of the way and sprinted back the way she'd come, slipping through the door and slamming it behind her. The Prince showed no signs of following her out of his rooms, but when she pressed her ear against the door she could hear muffled sobs.
"It didn't go well?" Alfonzo muttered sadly. Cecily just shook her head.
"Not at all."
–
Cecily squealed as she was tugged into an alcove. Currently she was trying to do a few quick chores around the castle before she helped Charlotte prepare the kitchens for her night shift. That wasn't technically part of Cecily's work, and she definitely wasn't getting paid for it, but she enjoyed spending time with Charlotte. They'd become good friends ever since she'd become the Prince's maidservant, and she enjoyed seeing the kids running around the kitchen and playing under the disguise of helping (though only one of them actually belonged to Charlotte).
"Sorry," Prince Philip said, and Cecily backed away from him to the other side of the alcove.
"Prince Philip," she acknowledged.
"Phil," he corrected. Cecily nodded.
"What can I do for you?"
"Let me into Dan's rooms," he begged.
"I can't do that," she said sadly.
"Then tell me if he comes out. Please, I need to see him."
Cecily bit her lip, but she finally nodded. He would leave his rooms eventually, and she technically wouldn't be breaking any rules by alerting Phil. Her only instructions were to not let anyone in. And Cecily knew that he would come out sooner or later.
Time has proven that he could live without Phil, though he clearly didn't like it; what he couldn't live without was Alamo.
"Okay," she said, and Phil breathed a relieved sigh, letting his head hang.
"Thank you."
–
It happened in the early morning. She'd asked Bentley and Alfonzo to alert her if Dan happened to venture out of his rooms, and venture out he did. As soon as he was out of view Bentley was finding Cecily, and from there she was running to Phil's rooms.
The guards let her in with nothing other than a raised eyebrow, and then she was knocking politely on his door before bursting into his room, panting and red-faced. She was desperate, after all, to fix her blunder, to remedy what she'd done to Dan. And sure, it might hurt to be in the presence of the one you love, especially when you weren't sure if it would be reciprocated or if it was even allowed, but on the other hand, he'd be with the one he loved.
Cecily had no clue what Phil felt like, whether he had feelings for Dan or even for men at all. But she did know that he was probably the kindest person she'd ever met, and even if he didn't feel for Dan the same way, he wouldn't treat her Prince any different for it; he definitely wouldn't hate him for it.
"Prince!" Cecily gasped, catching her breath as Phil jerked awake. "Prince Daniel has gone out riding! If you hurry you might catch him!"
With that, Phil was tumbling out of bed and groggily thanking her as he disappeared into his closet, reappearing moments later in a haphazardly put together outfit. With that he was sprinting out of his rooms, his guards yelling out in surprise as he rushed past them.
Cecily finally let herself breathe a sigh of relief, letting herself believe that everything would be okay. After all, how could things not be, when Prince Daniel had Phil?
a/n also this is just because i realize i haven't mentioned it here, but i made a youtube channel? i only have one video on it currently and it's called 'the life of a writer', but if you wanna check it out im jillian carey on there!